Falling In Love With You
by Illogical1
Summary: Obligatory Valentine fic. Steve wants Natasha as his Valentine. Natasha secretly wants Steve back. Bucky and OC ship it.


**An; So I wanted to write a fic in time for Valentine's Day and this was the result. I would like to thank my amazing beta, You'remyFriend for helping and encouraging me on this.**

 **There is a little Russian in this fic but I really didn't feel like butchering the language so _the bold italics are Russian._**

 **Babushka- grandmother or grandma**

 **возлюбленный- boyfriend/lover**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing, the title was taken from Elvis' song _Falling in Love_ , I don't own Marvel, or the Princess Bride. If I did, then I probably wouldn't be sitting around writing all the time. **

**Please enjoy!**

 _Falling in Love with You_

It was two weeks before Valentine's Day and the stores were _packed_ with pink hearts, teddy bears, roses and chocolates. All the radio stations were playing an exceeding amount of love songs and everywhere Steve looked, he saw pink. Steve used to love Valentine's Day; back when he was in school, people gave out handmade cards to their friends. Steve wasn't necessarily popular, but he received a few cards and he did his best to make sure everyone got a card from him. This Valentine's Day was different though.

This year, Steve was determined to have Natasha as his Valentine. They were great friends and a formidable team together; but Steve was hoping for something more. He caught the subtle glances Natasha would give him and he knew she saw him looking almost every time. Their casual flittering slowly turned serious, and Natasha had finally ceased setting him up on blind dates. Steve had slowly fallen head-over-heels for Natasha over the past five years and now was the perfect time to tell her. The only question was how.

Natasha, at least on the outside, was not a girly-girl. She never wore pink, she hated flower gifts, she absolutely could not stand chick flicks, and Natasha was just a very independent person by nature. Steve had to find a way to woo her despite all this. He needed to learn about her passions outside of her job. To show her that he was serious about being her fella.

Peggy had been right; Steve didn't know a bloody thing about women. Peggy had pretty much done all the work in their very short relationship. Bucky, however, had a _wealth_ of information about dames. Steve figured it was high time he took advantage of Bucky's wisdom in that area.

333

Steve approached Bucky after the team's daily training session in the locker room. Hopefully where Natasha wouldn't over hear. Bucky looked up from tying his shoes.

"Hey Steve, good sparing today."

"Thanks…" Steve blushed. "Uh, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, anything, pal."

Steve's blush deepened. "Ah, remember back before the war when you had a dame -err _lady_ on each arm? How'd you do that?"

Bucky's face lit up like Christmas came early. "Oh my gosh! My little Stevie is finally growing up!"

"Jerk, I am bigger than you."

"Nope! You'll always be that tiny shrimp of a punk to me! Which girl's caught your eye? Do I know her? Tell me everything!"

Steve's eyes widened. "Uh, yes you know her; no, you can't say anything to her. I really want to do this myself. I want to prove to her that I would treat her right."

Bucky's face softened and he patted Steve on the back. "Steve, any girl would be beyond lucky to have you. You're the best guy I know and if she can't see that, she ain't worthy of ya."

Steve smiled and slapped Bucky's shoulder in return. Bucky's sober expression quickly returned to his usual mischievous self. "Now, who's the lucky girl?"

Steve turned beet red but grinned, "Natasha."

Bucky froze. His eyes rose to stare confusedly into Steve's. "Natalia? You want to date Natalia? Steve, do you have a death wish?!"

"No, I just really like her and I think the feeling might be mutual?"

Bucky shuddered. "You are a far braver man than people give you credit for."

"Thanks Buck," Steve smiled and puffed up his chest. "now can you show me your tricks?"

"Well, I don't know about Natalia, but I do know…" The two men excited the locker room, absorbed in their discussion about dating and wooing dangerous assassins.

333

The next morning, Steve was terrified. He was going to ask Natasha to go with him on his morning jog and after he planned on treating her to breakfast. Sam had 'canceled' on him because he was 'busy'. Steve was hoping that sometime between now and after breakfast, he'd gain the courage to officially ask Natasha to be his Valentine.

Steve got up an hour early, set on looking presentable before Natasha woke. He picked a particularly tight wife beater and a pair of blue shorts to display his muscles. He combed and gelled his hair, and even applied the smallest hint of cologne. Steve met his own piercing blue eyes in the full length mirror and grinned. He was ready.

Steve casually walked into the common floor's kitchen to make coffee (specifically for Natasha) and grab some fruit (an apple because bananas of the future were horrendous imposters) for himself. He was happily munching on his apple and the coffee was just about finished brewing when Natasha entered, looking pristine as always.

"Good morning, Romanoff."

"Rogers," She politely nodded before grabbing her mug. The coffee pot beeped and Natasha poured a healthy dose into her oversized cup. She turned to add French Vanilla creamer and gulped it down with a blissed sigh. "Thanks for making the coffee. Every time Clint does it, he drinks right out of the pot."

"Oh, you're welcome." Steve smiled before taking a breath, this was it. "Hey Nat, wanna join me for my run? Sam canceled on me. I promise not to run circles around ya."

Natasha took another gulp of coffee before responding. "Coffee first. Then I'll change and we can go."

333

The sun was just starting to rise by the time Steve and Natasha had run almost four miles around Central Park. Steve had kept his promise and kept himself to a light jog so he wouldn't out run Natasha's all out sprint. The park was starting to come alive with other runners and the streets were buzzing with cars. The pair continued to mile ten before stopping to stretch. Steve hadn't even broken a sweat while Natasha was uncomfortably damp. They were almost through with stretching when Steve decided to go for it.

"So, you wanna grab breakfast?"

Natasha smirked playfully. "Do you always take Sam to breakfast after your runs?"

"No, I just feel guilty for dragging you out with me."

Natasha's face softened. "You didn't drag me anywhere, Rogers. And I know the perfect pancake house in all of New York."

333

Natasha led him to a small hole-in-the-wall dinner called _Babushka's_. The inside was decorated to give off the small town homely vibe, the complete opposite of the city around it. The door jingled as they walked in and a grandmotherly lady, probably as old as Steve, welcomed them.

"Ah, Natalia! It is wonderful to see you again dearie!" Steve was surprised to hear the heavy Russian accent.

"Thank you, Yvonne." Natasha replied, throwing an arm around Steve's waist, she continued, "This is my возлюбленный, Steve."

Yvonne's eyes widened and her face broke into a wide smile. "Welcome, welcome, Stiepan! It is so nice to meet you!"

Steve, going on the assumption that Natasha had introduced him as a friend, was slightly confused but smiled and shook Yvonne's hand. "Thank you ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you too."

Yvonne smiled and turned to lead them to a secluded table. "Come right this way and I'll get you two all set up _ **. Natalia, you never told me he was such a cutie!**_ " Both women giggled and Steve got the impression it was about him. He really needed to learn Russian.

Yvonne led the pair to a table for two in the back corner of the restraint. After taking their drink orders, she gave a knowing look to Natasha before prancing off. Once she was out of hearing range, Steve turned to Natasha, "Wow. She seems energetic…for her, ah age."

Natasha smiled, "Yes she is. I found this place when I first joined SHIELD. Once Yvonne heard I was Russian, she 'adopted' me. I don't think she remembers that I'm not her granddaughter."

"Well, you're very lucky then."

"Yeah, I guess I am." Natasha smiled. Her real smile. Steve grinned; proud he could make her drop her mask like that.

Yvonne came back soon with their drinks and more food than they could ever hope to eat. (" _ **You're too thin Natalia. I can't have you wasting away.**_ ") The couple ate as much as they could and spoke about their work with the Avengers, Steve's art, and completely random nonsense, spending almost three hours at the restaurant.

As Steve went to pay the bill, Yvonne waved him off. "You're good for her, just make sure you take care of my Natalia and we'll be even."

Steve blushed bright pink. "Uh, yes ma'am. I promise as long as she lets me, she'll be treated like a queen."

Yvonne smiled sweetly, patting Steve on the shoulder. "Good boy, Stiepan. You make sure you come see me again soon."

Knowing that no was not an answer, Steve agreed, before ducking back over to Natasha.

"Ready to go?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." Steve replied simply. This was it. He was gonna ask her. "Hey, Nat? The real reason I asked you to go running with me, and to breakfast, was because I, well, I like you. I mean I _really_ like you."

Natasha froze halfway out the door. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, and I was wondering if you would maybe like to go on a date with me? Say, the fourteenth?"

"This your way of covertly asking me to be your Valentine, Rogers?"

"Yes, yes it is." Steve dropped to one knee. "Natasha Romanoff, I've never done this before, but would you be my Valentine?"

Natasha grinned as she hauled Steve up to kiss him. "I would be honored to, Steven Rogers." Their lips met and they were so enraptured by the feel of the other, that neither noticed Yvonne applauding and squealing with joy from the window.

333

It was five twenty-six on the fourteenth of February and Steve was a mixture of nerves and excitement. He'd straightened his tie three times, fussed with his hair twice, and was currently pacing the hallway of his and Bucky's shared apartment in the Tower.

Bucky, who was eating Chinese takeout on the couch with Darcy (the perfect date for them), leaned over to watch him. "You're gonna wear a hole in the carpet again, punk! Just go already!"

Steve checked his watch, five twenty-eight. "She said five thirty!"

Bucky rolled his eyes and Darcy giggled. "It's close enough. The elevator will take at _least_ two minutes!"

Steve's eyes widened. "See ya later, Buck!" and he dashed gracelessly out the door.

Bucky huffed and casually threw his arm around Darcy. "Finally. Now we can watch our movie in peace."

Darcy snuggled in to his side and used the remote to play _The Princess Bride_ on their giant TV screen.

333

The restaurant was dim, lit only by the soft glow of candle light. The band was winding down; playing slow love songs to the only couple still tenderly slow dancing on the floor. It was well past midnight but they showed no sign of stopping.

The lady, a beautiful redhead, was wearing a dark green dress that brought out her eyes. She clung tighter to her young man who was wearing a matching green shirt and a black tie.

"I've only ever danced on missions." She whispered into his ear.

"I've never actually danced." He confessed.

She smiled, amused. "You seem to be doing pretty well then, Rogers."

"You have Bucky to thank for that, Romanoff."

"Well, I supposed I owe James a thank you present then."

"Nah, he got me out of the apartment so he could spend time with Darcy. That's present enough."

Natasha laughed and Steve held her impossibly closer. The couple continued to sway in time with the music until the last of the notes faded away.

 _"I can't help, but falling in love with you."_

 _End_

 **Thank you for reading! This may or may not be the beginning of a series featuring Romanogers and Bucky/Darcy. And Yvonne will return to ship all the ships.**


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